Council to vote on backyard chicken proposal

Thursday

Mar 20, 2014 at 3:15 AM

By Casey Conleycconley@fosters.com

SOMERSWORTH — The City Council is expected to vote Monday on a measure that would let residents raise backyard chickens.

The proposed zoning change would allow up to six hens per property in residential areas. Chicken coops would be limited to the backyard and couldn’t be within 20 feet of a property line. Roosters would not be allowed.

Councilor Jennifer Soldati, who proposed the measure, received a variance three years ago to keep chickens at her Pleasant Street home. She introduced the change after hearing from other residents interesting in raising chickens.

During an interview this week, she said her hens are clean and quiet. The loudest they get is when they lay eggs, and even then they just cluck a few times, she said. On average, each of her birds lay about six eggs a week.

“I have four chickens and they are very sweet,” said Soldati, who represents Ward 2. “You can go stand in the middle of the coop and there is no odor. It’s all about maintenance.”

She said her fresh eggs also are healthier than those available at the supermarket.

If approved, Somersworth would join several communities across the region that allow backyard chickens. Durham changed its zoning to allow chickens last year. Dover did so, too, in 2010.

Chris Parker, Dover’s director of planning and community development, said the regulations are working well.

“We have had a few issues where we’ve needed to work with property owners to ensure that the chickens are in the backyards and that they have proper housing, as we want to ensure they are protected from the elements and from predators,” Parker said in an email.

“I have spoken with Councilor Soldati about this regulation over the years and she reviewed it when putting together the proposed ordinance change in Somersworth,” he added.

The City Council held a first reading on the proposal March 3. A public hearing and final vote is expected at Monday’s meeting, which begins at 7 p.m. at City Hall.

How the vote will go is anyone’s guess.

Ward 1 Councilor Martin Pepin plans to vote against it. He’s received calls from constituents concerned about chicken waste, the possibility they could get loose and concerns about smell.

Moreover, he said residents who want chickens already have the right to seek a variance. In that scenario, neighbors are notified and a city board determines whether to allow the chickens on a case-by-case basis. It wasn’t clear Friday how many Somersworth residents have received such a variance.

At-large Councilor Sean Collins said he can’t find any reason to vote against the proposal.

“People like to grow gardens and grow vegetables and having four or five hens … seems like a reasonable thing provided the environment is conducive to the happiness of the animal,” he said.

Ward 5 Councilor Denis Messier also plans to support the measure. But he’s not sure how the rest of the council is feeling about it.

“I’m sure with this kind of thing there are some that don’t want it and some that do and some for who it’s not a big shake,” he said. “We’ll see what people say.”